Manziel and Family Seek to Trademark “Johnny Football”

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The latest chapter in the legend of Johnny Football was written Saturday evening when Manziel took his Aggies into Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa and knocked off the Crimson Tide 29-24. Manziel put up a Heisman-worthy performance on the Alabama defense, unanimously regarded as the toughest in the country. And the kid is only a redshirt freshman. Very impressive. Even people in the “That is the dumbest nickname I’ve ever heard” crowd have to admit the “Johnny Football” moniker has become a household name.

Manziel and his family are now looking to trademark the name.

“Texas A&M is working in concert with the Manziel family to trademark the nickname,” said Shane Hinckley, who is assistant vice president of business development at the school and runs the Aggies’ licensing program

In order to keep Manziel’s eligibility intact, neither Texas A&M nor the family can sell products with Johnny Football that in any way hints of a connection to Manziel. The school can, and is expected to by the NCAA, stop vendors from doing so as well. Actually scoring a trademark often depends on using the mark in actual commerce, which means it could be years before the Manziel family actually owns it. It is also not clear at this time whether Manziel or someone else deserves to even own the trademark. The nickname has no history before Aggies players and fans started calling him that at the start of the season.

Manziel knows you’ve got to strike while the iron’s hot. Now, I’m not all that adept at the ins and outs of monetizing sweet nicknames, but I have to assume “Johnny Football” will be infinitely more profitable than Anthony Davis’ unibrow.

Here’s a recap of Saturday’s game if you were too blacked out to remember:

Dillon Cheverere (@RogerJDorn) is the Vice President of Media for Grandex, Inc. He's a native Texan with a full head of hair and knows his way around a nice box of red wine. Dorn graduated (BBA) with a GPA sitting in the meaty part of the bell curve, not lagging behind, but not trying to show off, either. Golf is his game now. He's long off the tee but can't putt for shit. Email: dillon@grandex.co